It was no ordinary game day for the Ducks, who were eventually present in mind and body for their 2-0 home loss to Calgary on Monday night. The hours leading up to puck drop had many within the organization scrambling to make other accommodations due to the Canyon Fire 2 that broke out in Anaheim Hills.

As the wildfire raged Monday morning into afternoon, many coaches, players and staff members were following evacuation orders and taking family members, cherished pets and essential documents and belongings to a hotel near Honda Center for an overnight stay – or longer if the order stayed in place.

Those who have homes near the affected area include Ducks coach Randy Carlyle and General Manager Bob Murray. “We were very close to it,” Carlyle said. “It was less than a quarter-mile from where I reside.”

The Ducks had morning meetings and a skating session as smoke moved in the direction of Honda Center, turning a blue sky into a combination of brown, black and orange. “I drove home and actually picked up my wife and cat,” said Carlyle, who also grabbed his Stanley Cup ring. “Went to the hotel.”

Defenseman Francois Beauchemin had to relocate with his wife, Marie-Claude, and their three children as they were told to evacuate from their Tustin Ranch home. Beauchemin said he hoped they would be allowed back in Tuesday night, which became possible when the order was lifted.

“I just laid down for 20 minutes (at home) and then soon after that I got the call that we had to evacuate,” Beauchemin said. “So we had to pack some stuff and make sure we had enough because we don’t know how long we’re going to be out. We packed some stuff for a couple of days.

“We‘ve got two dogs and a cat so we’ve got to get them out of there too. And then calling the hotel. My parents were in town too. So it was a lot of distraction. Come game time, you got to still be focused and be ready to go.”

As disconcerting as game day had become, Carlyle knows it could have been far worse. As of Tuesday, 36 structures had been either destroyed or damaged.

“We were fortunate,” Carlyle said. “But obviously there’s people who were less fortunate. That’s where you think of. To see the number of people displaced. And the traffic to get in and out of where you’re going and the environment that was created yesterday was quite different than you’d ever experienced before.

“Not positive, that’s for sure.”

INJURY REPORT

Most of the Ducks were given Tuesday off but Nick Ritchie was one of the few skaters and the winger went through a taxing session to test out of a lower-body injury that’s sidelined him the last two games. It has nagged at him since training camp.

“It just hasn’t felt good and has kind of restricted me a little bit,” Ritchie said. “It was at a point where I didn’t want to make anything worse and push something like this. It’s starting to feel a lot better every day and hopefully it continues that.”

The Ducks got Ryan Getzlaf back in the lineup Monday and are hopeful that Ritchie and winger Patrick Eaves aren’t too far behind.

“We wanted to stimulate some people here that have been out of the lineup,” Carlyle said. “They’ve got an opportunity to join us any time here. So hopefully we’ll get some healthy bodies starting tomorrow night.”

Ryan Miller (upper body) has yet to dress after getting hurt during the preseason but that day may be coming as the veteran goalie has moved from doing individual workouts to taking shots from teammates.

Full practices are the next step for Miller, who signed a two-year deal with the Ducks on the first day of free agency.

“He’s joining our group,” Carlyle said. “He’ll be getting into more of a day-to-day scenario.”

Ondrej Kase remains day-to-day after suffering a head injury in the latter stages of the first period Monday when Calgary defenseman Dougie Hamilton delivered a hard check. Kase dropped his stick and immediately headed off the ice.

Kase said he was feeling better but that he’ll be evaluated daily, adding it’s “tough to say” if he’d be able to play Wednesday.

POWER OUTAGE

The Ducks don’t have great concern over a power play that’s yet to score in 11 opportunities but it’s headed in the wrong direction after being a major disappointment last season.

“We’ve had lots of opportunities,” Carlyle said. “We’ve had chances and we haven’t scored. And we have to find ways to create more offense. That’s one of them. We’re going to point to our power play and that goes to our big guys and best players.

“We deem that our best players got to execute. And when you get opportunities, you got to find the back of the net.”

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